Second primary neoplasms in 633,964 cancer patients in Sweden, 1958-1996

Relative risk of second malignant neoplasms highest among young adult cancer patients - a population-based registry study in Finland

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The objective of this study was to explore the incidence of second malignant neoplasms (SMNs) among adult cancer patients in Finland diagnosed with their first primary cancer (FPC) in 1992-2021.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study used data from the population-based Finnish Cancer Registry (FCR). Risk estimates were calculated using the standardised incidence ratio (SIR), the ratio of observed second cancers compared to the expected numbers assuming the same cancer incidence as the corresponding sex-age-calendar year -split of the general population.

RESULTS

A total of 573,379 FPCs were diagnosed during 1992-2021. During the follow-up, 60,464 SMNs were diagnosed. Male cancer patients had neither a decreased nor an increased risk (SIR 1.00 [95% CI, 0.99-1.01]) and female patients had an 8% increased risk (SIR 1.08 [95% CI, 1.06-1.09]) of developing any SMN compared to a FPC in the general population. The highest SIR of any SMN was observed in patients aged 20-39 -years at FPC diagnosis, and the SIR decreased by increasing age at diagnosis. Patients with lymphoid and haematopoietic tissue neoplasms, cancers of the mouth and pharynx, endocrine glands, respiratory and intrathoracic organs, skin, and urinary organs had the highest SIRs, while patients with cancers of the male genital organs and the female breast had the lowest SIRs.

INTERPRETATION

Elevated SIRs were observed in cancer patients diagnosed at an early age and for FPCs known to be in large part attributable to lifestyle factors, which highlights the importance of monitoring and encouraging lifestyle changes.

Cumulative incidence of second primary cancers in a large nationwide cohort of Danish cancer survivors: a population-based retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

A new primary cancer is a serious late effect of a pre-existing cancer diagnosis, and can be attributed to hereditary cancer syndromes, immune or hormonal factors, cancer treatment, or modifiable lifestyle or environmental factors. We investigated the absolute and relative incidence of second primary cancers in a large cohort of Danish cancer survivors. Furthermore, we examined the association between alcohol-related, smoking-related, virus-related, and hormone-related first and second primary cancers.

METHODS

In this retrospective cohort study, we identified a cohort of Danish adults (aged ≥40 years) diagnosed with cancer from Jan 1, 1997, to Dec 31, 2014 and alive 1 year after diagnosis. Follow-up was from date of first cancer diagnosis and lasted up to 24 years, ending on Dec 31, 2020. Cohort identification and information on second primary cancers was obtained from the Danish Cancer Registry, and comorbidity and sociodemographic information was obtained from Danish population-based registries. Overall, and for 27 cancer types, cumulative incidence functions and Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate the incidence of second primary cancer and death, and hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs of second primary cancer adjusted for sex, age and year of diagnosis, cohabitation status, income, and comorbidity.

FINDINGS

457 334 Danish adults were included in our study (230 150 [50·3%] male individuals and 227 184 [49·7%] female individuals; median age at diagnosis 68·3 years, IQR 59·7-76·6; median follow-up 3·6 years, IQR 0·6-9·3). The cumulative incidence of second primary cancer increased over time from 6·3% (95% CI 6·2-6·4) 5 years after diagnosis to 10·5% (10·4-10·6) 10 years after diagnosis and to 13·5% (13·4-13·7) 15 years after diagnosis. The highest cumulative incidence of second primary cancer 10 years after diagnosis was observed in survivors of cancers in the larynx (21·8%, 20·5-23·1), oropharynx and oral cavity (19·5%, 18·7-20·3), and bladder and urinary tract (18·5%, 18·0-19·0). Survivors of cancers related to alcohol (HR 1·09, 95% CI 1·06-1·13), smoking (1·73, 1·68-1·78), diet high in red or processed meat (1·32, 1·24-1·39), or virus (1·23, 1·13-1·35) were at increased risk of developing a second cancer with the same aetiology, whereas having had a hormone-related first cancer was associated with lower risk of a second hormone-related cancer (0·77, 0·73-0·81).

INTERPRETATION

Our results could help optimise prevention efforts targeting modifiable risk factors to reduce risk of developing a second primary cancer.

FUNDING

Nordic Cancer Union and The Health Foundation (Helsefonden).

Risk of subsequent keratinocyte carcinomas after a first diagnosis in Tasmania, Australia

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

A history of keratinocyte carcinoma (KC) is a risk factor for further KCs, but population-based studies quantifying the risk are lacking in Australia. We aimed to describe the risk of subsequent KCs after first KCs in the Australian state of Tasmania.

METHODS

Tasmanian residents identified in the Tasmanian Cancer Registry with a first histologically confirmed basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) or synchronous BCC and SCC (within 3 months) between January 1985 and December 2013 were followed up for at least 5 years for the development of a subsequent KC. Cumulative risk, incidence rates and standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated.

RESULTS

Those first diagnosed with BCC-only, SCC-only or synchronous BCC and SCC had (i) 5-year cumulative risks of subsequent KCs of 32%, 29% and 51%, (ii) annualised 5-year incidence rates of 8100/100,000 person-years at risk (PYR), 7747/100,000 PYR and 16,634/100,000 PYR and (iii) SIRs of 10.6 (95% CI: 10.5-10.6), 12.5 (95% CI: 12.4-12.6) and 313.0 (95% CI: 305.2-321.1), respectively. Risk estimates increased substantially when multiple (two or more) lesions of any type were diagnosed synchronously.

CONCLUSIONS

In the first Australian population-based study to describe the risk of subsequent KCs according to histological types, around one in three Tasmanians diagnosed with first KCs were diagnosed with subsequent KCs within 5 years. The risk of subsequent KCs was higher among those with a history of multiple synchronous lesions, especially if they included both BCC and SCC lesions.

Risk of second primary cancer among breast cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives

The aim of this study was to estimate the extra risk of second primary cancer among breast cancer patients.

Methods and materials

This is a systematic review. A comprehensive search of literature was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane library, and Scopus. The search included all published studies up to October 2022. This systematic review included studies published in the English language that reported the risk of second primary non-breast cancer [i.e., standardized incidence ratio (SIR)] among breast cancer patients older than 15 years. After evaluating the methodological quality of the selected studies, SIRs were pooled with consideration of heterogeneity among studies. The estimates were pooled by age and time since the diagnosis of primary breast cancer for both sexes (male and female). Age was categorized based on before 50 years and after 50 years, and time was categorized as duration of less than and more than 10 years, respectively.

Results

From 2,484 articles, 30 articles were eligible for inclusion in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The studies varied in terms of population, number of cases, study design, setting, and year of implementation of the research. The estimated SIR for men and women was 1.28 (95% CI: 1.18, 1.38) and 1.27 (95% CI: 1.15, 1.39), respectively. Women diagnosed with breast cancer before menopause [SIR: 1.52 (95% CI: 1.34, 1.71) vs. 1.21 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.34)] as well as women after 10 years since their breast cancer diagnosis [1.33 (95% CI: 1.22, 1.431) vs. 1.24 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.37)] were at a higher risk of developing second primary cancer. Among men, while there were no differences in risk based on age, with the increase of time, the risk of second primary cancer was reduced [SIR: 1.22 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.33) vs. 1.00 (95% CI: 0.79, 1.22)].

Conclusion

There is an extra risk of second primary cancer among breast cancer patients. The extra risk should be considered for further screening and preventive measures among this population.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=336062, identifier (CRD42022336062).

Risk of developing a second primary cancer in male breast cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

With increasing survival after cancer diagnoses, second primary cancers (SPCs) are becoming more prevalent. We investigated the incidence and site of non-breast SPC risks following male breast cancer (BC).

METHODS

PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were systematically searched for studies reporting standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) for SPCs published by March 2022. Meta-analyses used the generic inverse-variance method, assuming a random-effects model. We evaluated SIRs for overall SPCs, site-specific risks, by age at BC onset, time since BC onset and geographic region. We assessed study quality using routine techniques.

RESULTS

Eight population-based retrospective cohort studies were identified. SIRs ranged from 1.05 to 2.17. The summary SIR estimate was 1.27 (95% CI: 1.03-1.56, I2: 86%), and there were increased colorectal (SIR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.03-1.61), pancreatic (SIR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.05-2.55) and thyroid (SIR: 5.58, 95% CI: 1.04-30.05) SPC risks. When an outlying study was excluded, the summary SIR for men diagnosed with BC before age 50 was 1.50 (95% CI: 1.21-1.85), significantly higher than men diagnosed at older ages (SIR: 1.14, 95% CI: 0.98-1.33).

CONCLUSIONS

Male BC survivors are at elevated risks of developing second primary colorectal, pancreatic and thyroid cancers. The estimates may assist their clinical management and guide decisions on genetic testing.

The risk of developing second primary malignancies among colorectal cancer patients

Background: The increasing number of young colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors has led to ongoing concerns about the risk of secondary primary malignancies (SPMs). Here, we intended to comprehensively explore the pooled standardized incidence rates (SIRs) for total and site-specific SPMs in CRC survivors with different restriction to lag period.

Methods: Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of science databases were searched to identify any studies reporting the SIRs of SPM following CRC until August 2021. Total and site-specific SIRs with different restriction to lag period were pooled using fixed/random effect models.

Results: A total of 42 full-text publications with more than 1, 524, 236 CRC survivors and 166, 210 SPM patients were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled data showed an increased SIRs for all SPMs in CRC survivors with different restriction to lag period (no restriction to lag period, SIR = 1.15, 95% CI = [1.08–1.23]; 1-year lag, 1.16 [1.10–1.23]; 5-year lag, 1.18 [1.09–1.28]; 10-year lag, 1.24 [1.11–1.39]). The conclusions were consistent for neoplasms of colorectum, corpus uteri, and small intestine with different restriction to lag period. However, limited evidence was presented for associations between CRC survivors and SPM for prostate, breast (female), ovarian, stomach, urinary bladder, kidney, thyroid, bone and soft tissue.

Conclusion: CRC survivors are associated with an increased risk of SPMs, especially neoplasms of colorectum, corpus uteri, and small intestine. Further studies should explore the risks for these neoplasms in CRC survivors, thus providing the reference for future follow-up care.

A comprehensive analysis of renal cell carcinoma as first and second primary cancers

Objective

Second primary renal cell carcinoma (2nd RCC) refers to renal cell carcinoma (RCC) diagnosed after another unrelated malignancy. This study aims to compare the clinical manifestation, pathology, treatment, and prognostic features of patients with 2nd RCC and first primary renal cell carcinoma (1st RCC).

Materials and methods

Data of the patients with localized RCC were retrospectively collected. They were classified as 2nd RCC or 1st RCC according to a previously diagnosed cancer, including 113 cases of 2nd RCC and 749 cases of 1st RCC.

Results

The most common types of extrarenal malignancies in patients with 2nd RCC include lung, colorectal, breast, gynecological, and gastric cancers. The age and smoking rate of 2nd RCC patients were significantly higher than in those of 1st RCC patients. For 2nd RCC patients, fewer had clinical symptoms and renal masses tend to be smaller. One hundred and eight (95.6%) patients with 2nd RCC received surgical interventions. All patients with 1st RCC underwent renal surgery. More patients with 2nd RCC underwent a partial nephrectomy. Pathologically, there was no significant difference in postoperative pathological types between the 2nd and 1st RCCs. However, the 2nd RCCs were commonly identified in the early stages. The median overall survival (OS) of 2nd RCC patients was 117 months, which was shorter than that of 1st RCC patients.

Conclusions

Second RCC is not uncommon. More attention should be paid to screening for 2nd RCC in cancer survivors. There are some differences between patients with 2nd and 1st RCCs that should be viewed separately.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12957-022-02493-6.

Massive parallel sequencing in individuals with multiple primary tumours reveals the benefit of re-analysis

Multiple primary cancers, defined as three or more primary tumours, are rare, and there are few genetic studies concerning them. There is a need for increased knowledge on the heritability of multiple primary cancers and genotype-phenotype correlations. We have performed whole-genome/exome sequencing (WGS/WES) in ten individuals with three or more primary tumours, with no previous findings on standard clinical genetic investigations. In one individual with a clinical diagnosis of MEN1, a likely pathogenic cryptic splice site variant was detected in the MEN1 gene. The variant (c.654C > A) is synonymous but we showed in a cDNA analysis that it affects splicing and leads to a frameshift, with the theoretical new amino acid sequence p.(Gly219Glufs*13). In one individual with metachronous colorectal cancers, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, we found a likely pathogenic variant in the MLH1 gene (c.27G > A), and two risk factor variants in the genes CHEK2 and HOXB13. The MLH1 variant is synonymous but has previously been shown to be associated to constitutional low-grade hypermethylation of the MLH1 promoter, and segregates with disease in families with colorectal and endometrial cancer. No pathogenic single nucleotide or structural variants were detected in the remaining eight individuals in the study. The pathogenic variants found by WGS/WES were in genes already sequenced by Sanger sequencing and WES in the clinic, without any findings. We conclude that, in individuals with an unequivocal clinical diagnosis of a specific hereditary cancer syndrome, where standard clinical testing failed to detect a causative variant, re-analysis may lead to a diagnosis.

Benchmarking prognosis methods for survivability - A case study for patients with contingent primary cancers

BACKGROUND

There is an increasing number of patients with a first primary cancer who are diagnosed with a second primary cancer, but prognosis methods to predict the survivability of a patient with multiple primary cancers have not been fully benchmarked.

METHODS

This study investigated the five-year survivability prognosis performances of six machine learning approaches. These approaches are: artificial neural network, decision tree (DT), logistic regression, support vector machine, naïve Bayes (NB), and Bayesian network (BN). A synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE) was used to solve the imbalanced problem, and a nationwide cancer patient database containing 7,845 subjects in Taiwan was used as a sample source. Ten primary and secondary cancers and their key variables affecting the survivability of the patients were identified.

RESULTS

All the models using SMOTE improved sensitivity and specificity significantly. NB has the highest performance in terms of accuracy and specificity, whereas BN has the highest performance in terms of sensitivity. Further, the computational time and the power of knowledge representation of NB, BN, and DT outperformed the others.

CONCLUSIONS

Selecting the appropriate prognosis models to predict survivability of patients with two contingent primary cancers can aid precise prediction and can support appropriate treatment advice.

Risk of second malignancy in patients with ovarian clear cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

Ovarian clear cell carcinoma has unique clinical and molecular features compared with other epithelial ovarian cancer histologies. Our objective was to describe the incidence of second primary malignancy in patients with ovarian clear cell carcinoma.

METHODS

Retrospective cohort study of patients with ovarian clear cell carcinoma at two tertiary academic centers in Toronto, Canada between May 1995 and June 2017. Demographic, histopathologic, treatment, and survival details were obtained from chart review and a provincial cancer registry. We excluded patients with histologies other than pure ovarian clear cell carcinoma (such as mixed clear cell histology), and those who did not have their post-operative follow-up at these institutions.

RESULTS

Of 209 patients with ovarian clear cell carcinoma, 54 patients developed a second primary malignancy (25.8%), of whom six developed two second primary malignancies. Second primary malignancies included: breast (13), skin (9), gastrointestinal tract (9), other gynecologic malignancies (8), thyroid (6), lymphoma (3), head and neck (4), urologic (4), and lung (4). Eighteen second primary malignancies occurred before the index ovarian clear cell carcinoma, 35 after ovarian clear cell carcinoma, and 7 were diagnosed concurrently. Two patients with second primary malignancies were diagnosed with Lynch syndrome. Smoking and radiation therapy were associated with an increased risk of second primary malignancy on multivariable analysis (OR 3.69, 95% CI 1.54 to 9.07, p=0.004; OR 4.39, 95% CI 1.88 to 10.6, p=0.0008, respectively). However, for patients developing second primary malignancies after ovarian clear cell carcinoma, radiation therapy was not found to be a significant risk factor (p=0.17). There was no significant difference in progression-free survival (p=0.85) or overall survival (p=0.38) between those with second primary malignancy and those without.

CONCLUSION

Patients with ovarian clear cell carcinoma are at increased risk of second primary malignancies, most frequently non-Lynch related. A subset of patients with ovarian clear cell carcinoma may harbor mutations rendering them susceptible to second primary malignancies. Our results may have implications for counseling and consideration for second primary malignancy screening.

Survivability modelling using Bayesian network for patients with first and secondary primary cancers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Multiple primary cancers significantly threat patient survivability. Predicting the survivability of patients with two cancers is challenging because its stochastic pattern relates with numerous variables.

METHODS

In this study, a Bayesian network (BN) model was proposed to describe the occurrence of two primary cancers and predict the five-year survivability of patients using probabilistic evidence. Eleven types of major primary cancers and contingent occurrences of secondary cancers were investigated. A nationwide two-cancer database involving 7,845 patients in Taiwan was investigated. The BN topology is rigorously examined and imbalanced dataset is processed by the synthetic minority oversampling technique. The proposed BN survivability prognosis model was compared with benchmark approaches.

RESULTS

The proposed model significantly outperformed the back-propagation neural network, logistic regression, support vector machine, and naïve Bayes in terms of sensitivity, which is a critical performance index for the non-survival group.

CONCLUSIONS

Using the proposed BN model, one can estimate the posterior probabilities for every query provided appropriate prior evidences. The potential survivability information of patients, treatment effects, and socio-demographics factor effects predicted by the proposed model can help in cancer treatment assessment and cancer development monitoring.

Occurrence of metachronous second primary cancer in head and neck cancer survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature

OBJECTIVE

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the sixth leading cancer worldwide with approximately 600,000 new cases per year. Several studies suggest that HNC survivors may have an increased risk of developing second primary cancers (SPCs). A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed aiming to quantify the overall and site-specific risk of metachronous SPCs in HNC survivors.

METHODS

PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus were searched to identify studies published until October 2019. Studies investigating the standardised incidence ratio (SIR) of metachronous SPC were included. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to calculate the overall and site-specific SIRs. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the study's quality. Heterogeneity was quantified using the I² statistics and explored using meta-regression.

RESULTS

Twenty-six studies were included in the systematic review. Studies differed by the definition of metachronous SPC used. For the meta-analyses, the studies were grouped according to these definitions. In the three groups, the overall risk of metachronous SPC was increased. The highest SPC risk was for oropharynx, oesophagus and lung.

CONCLUSIONS

Head and neck cancer survivors are at increased overall risk of metachronous SPCs. The canonical upper aerodigestive sites, HNLE (head and neck, oesophagus and lung), were the SPC sites with the highest risk.

IMPLICATION FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

Our results emphasise the importance of targeted surveillance strategies aimed at early detection and tertiary preventive interventions.

The relative risk of second primary cancers in Switzerland: a population-based retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

More people than ever before are currently living with a diagnosis of cancer and the number of people concerned is likely to continue to rise. Cancer survivors are at risk of developing a second primary cancer (SPC). This study aims to investigate the risk of SPC in Switzerland.

METHODS

The study cohort included all patients with a first primary cancer recorded in 9 Swiss population-based cancer registries 1981-2009 who had a minimum survival of 6 months, and a potential follow-up until the end of 2014. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIR) to estimate relative risks (RR) of SPC in cancer survivors compared with the cancer risk of the general population. SIR were stratified by type of first cancer, sex, age and period of first diagnosis, survival period and site of SPC.

RESULTS

A total of 33,793 SPC were observed in 310,113 cancer patients. Both male (SIR 1.18, 95%CI 1.16-1.19) and female (SIR 1.20, 95%CI 1.18-1.22) cancer survivors had an elevated risk of developing a SPC. Risk estimates varied substantially according to type of first cancer and were highest in patients initially diagnosed with cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx, Hodgkin lymphoma, laryngeal, oesophageal, or lung cancer. Age-stratified analyses revealed a tendency towards higher RR in patients first diagnosed at younger ages. Stratified by survival period, risk estimates showed a rising trend with increasing time from the initial diagnosis. We observed strong associations between particular types of first and SPC, i.e. cancer types sharing common risk factors such as smoking or alcohol consumption (e.g. repeated cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx (SIRmales 20.12, 95%CI 17.91-22.33; SIRfemales 37.87, 95%CI 30.27-45.48).

CONCLUSION

Swiss cancer survivors have an increased risk of developing a SPC compared to the general population, particularly patients first diagnosed before age 50 and those surviving more than 10 years. Cancer patients should remain under continued surveillance not only for recurrent cancers but also for new cancers. Some first and SPCs share lifestyle associated risk factors making it important to promote healthier lifestyles in both the general population and cancer survivors.

[Second Primary Cancer after Treating Gastrointestinal Cancer]

Advances in diagnosis and therapeutic technologies have brought increased life expectancy for most cancers, but paradoxically it also has increased the risk of second primary malignancies. Cancer survivors have a higher risk of developing cancer than the general population. This suggests that more studies are needed to develop screen and management programs for cancer survivors, especially patients with gastrointestinal cancers, which are the most common cancers in Korea.

Disease trajectories and mortality among women diagnosed with breast cancer

Purpose

Breast cancer is a common disease with a relatively good prognosis. Therefore, understanding the spectrum of diseases and mortality among breast cancer patients is important, though currently incomplete. We systematically examined the incidence and mortality of all diseases following a breast cancer diagnosis, as well as the sequential association of disease occurrences (trajectories).

Methods

In this national cohort study, 57,501 breast cancer patients (2001–2011) were compared to 564,703 matched women from the general Swedish population and followed until 2012. The matching criteria included year of birth, county of residence, and socioeconomic status. Based on information from the Swedish Patient and Cause of Death Registries, hazard ratios (HR) were estimated for disease incidence and mortality. Conditional logistic regression models were used to identify disease trajectories among breast cancer patients.

Results

Among 225 diseases, 45 had HRs > 1.5 and p < 0.0002 when comparing breast cancer patients with the general population. Diseases with highest HRs included lymphedema, radiodermatitis, and neutropenia, which are side effects of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Other than breast cancer, the only significantly increased cause of death was other solid cancers (HR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.08–1.24). Two main groups of disease trajectories were identified, which suggest menopausal disorders as indicators for other solid cancers, and both neutropenia and dorsalgia as diseases and symptoms preceding death due to breast cancer.

Conclusions

While an increased incidence of other diseases was found among breast cancer patients, increased mortality was only due to other solid cancers. Preventing death due to breast cancer should be a priority to prolong life in breast cancer patients, but closer surveillance of other solid cancers is also needed.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13058-019-1181-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Staging Uveal Melanoma with Whole-Body Positron-Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography and Abdominal Ultrasound: Low Incidence of Metastatic Disease, High Incidence of Second Primary Cancers

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this study was to report the results of staging primary uveal melanoma with whole-body (18) fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and abdominal ultrasound.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

From January 2012, patients with uveal melanoma over 4 mm in thickness were staged with FDG PET/CT and abdominal ultrasound.

RESULTS:

Over 2 years, 108 patients with medium-to-large melanoma underwent dual imaging. According to the tumor, node, and metastasis classification, there were 75% T3, 11% T2, and 14% T1 uveal melanomas. Only, three of 108 patients (2.8%) were found to have metastatic uveal melanoma. All three had liver metastases confirmed following biopsy; one of three had additional extrahepatic widespread metastases. In these three patients, liver findings using both imaging techniques were consistent in one patient. In the second case, abdominal ultrasound missed the diagnosis of metastatic disease; however, FDG PET/CT revealed intense metabolic activity of the liver. In the third case, PET/CT missed the liver metastases; however, this was identified on abdominal ultrasound. PET/CT identified incidental second primary malignancies in 10 patients (9%). Second malignancies were found in the lung, breast, colon, thyroid, and adrenal gland. Abdominal ultrasound detected benign hepatic abnormalities in 20 patients (18%).

CONCLUSIONS:

Whole-body PET/CT and abdominal ultrasound complement each other in the staging of uveal melanoma. Benign hepatic abnormalities found using ultrasound is common. Of importance, a second asymptomatic primary malignancy associated with uveal melanoma was detected almost one in 10 patients.

The relative risk of second primary cancers in Austria's western states: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Cancer survivors are at risk of developing a second primary cancer (SPC) later in life because of persisting effects of genetic and behavioural risk factors, the long-term sequelae of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and the passage of time. This is the first study with Austrian data on an array of entities, estimating the risk of SPCs in a population-based study by calculating standardized incidence ratios (SIRs).

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study included all invasive incident cancer cases diagnosed within the years 1988 to 2005 being registered in the Tyrol and Vorarlberg Cancer Registries. Person years at risk (PYAR) were calculated from time of first diagnosis plus 2 months until the exit date, defined as the date of diagnosis of the SPC, date of death, or end of 2010, whichever came first. SIR for specific SPCs was calculated based on the risk of these patients for this specific cancer.

RESULTS

A total of 59,638 patients were diagnosed with cancer between 1988 and 2005 and 4949 SPCs were observed in 399,535 person-years of follow-up (median 5.7 years). Overall, neither males (SIR 0.90; 95% CI 0.86-0.93) nor females (SIR 1.00; 95% CI 0.96-1.05) had a significantly increased SIR of developing a SPC. The SIR for SPC decreased with age showing a SIR of 1.24 (95% CI 1.12-1.35) in the age group of 15-49 and a SIR of 0.85 (95% CI 0.82-0.89) in the age group of ≥ 65. If the site of the first primary cancer was head/neck/larynx cancer in males and females (SIR 1.88, 95% CI 1.67-2.11 and 1.74, 95% CI 1.30-2.28), cervix cancer in females (SIR 1.40, 95% CI 1.14-1.70), bladder cancer in males (SIR 1.20, 95% CI 1.07-1.34), kidney cancer in males and females (SIR 1.22, 95% 1.04-1.42 and 1.29, 95% CI 1.03-1.59), thyroid gland cancer in females (SIR 1.40, 95% CI 1.11-1.75), patients showed elevated SIR, developing a SPC.

CONCLUSIONS

Survivors of head & neck, bladder/kidney, thyroid cancer and younger patients show elevated SIRs, developing a SPC. This has possible implications for surveillance strategies.

Risk of second primary cancers among patients with a first primary gastric cancer: A population-based study in North Portugal

BACKGROUND

The growing number of incident cases of gastric cancer along with improved survival result in a rising population of survivors at risk of second primary cancers (SPC). We estimated the cumulative incidence of metachronous (diagnosed >2months after first primary cancer [FPC]) SPC in gastric FPC patients and compared the incidence of metachronous SPC with that expected in the general population.

METHODS

A cohort of gastric FPC patients from the North Region Cancer Registry of Portugal, diagnosed in 2000-2006 (n=7427) was followed to 31 December 2010 for synchronous and metachronous SPCs. Cumulative incidence of metachronous SPCs taking into account death as a competing event and standardized incidence ratios (SIR) of metachronous SPCs were estimated.

RESULTS

Overall, 331 (4.5%) patients developed an SPC (26.9% synchronous and 73.1% metachronous). Over half of the SPCs occurred in digestive organs. Among men, the most frequent were colon, prostate, and trachea, bronchus and lung; in women, colon, breast and thyroid were the most common. The 10-year cumulative incidence of metachronous SPC for males was 5.7% and for females 3.5%. The SIR for all cancers was 1.30 in males and 1.20 in females. Among both sexes, significantly higher SIRs were observed for cancers of the oesophagus (males: 4.99; females: 8.03), small intestine (males: 11.04; females: 13.09) and colon (males: 2.42; females: 2.58).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with a gastric FPC were found to be at increased risk of developing SPC, mainly in digestive organs, when compared to the general population. Close surveillance of these patients may allow early detection of SPC.

Serum antioxidant capacity, biochemical profile and body composition of breast cancer survivors in a randomized Mediterranean dietary intervention study

PURPOSE

Increasing evidence suggests that Mediterranean Diet (MD) is correlated with reduced risk of breast cancer (BC) and cancer mortality, since it modifies patients' serum antioxidant capacity, body composition and biochemical parameters. The aim of the study was to investigate whether a dietary intervention based on MD has a beneficial effect on these factors.

METHODS

In this intervention study, seventy female BC survivors were randomly assigned to (1) the intervention group (personalized dietary intervention based on MD) and (2) the control group (received the updated American Cancer Society Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention and ad libitum diet). Both groups were assessed twice [beginning, end of study (after 6 months)] regarding their anthropometric and biochemical parameters, serum vitamin C, vitamin A, a-tocopherol and CoQ10 levels, dietary intake and adherence to MD. An additional intermediate analysis was conducted on participants' body composition and biochemical profile.

RESULTS

Concerning the intervention group, body weight, body fat mass, waist circumference, body mass index as well as HDL-cholesterol were significantly decreased (P < 0.2%). An increase was observed in the vitamin C levels in blood (P < 0.2%). In the control group, body weight, body fat mass and serum total cholesterol rose (P < 0.2%). At the end of the study the two groups were significantly different considering blood glucose, vitamin C, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamin A and a-tocopherol levels.

CONCLUSIONS

This randomized dietary intervention based on MD managed to ameliorate serum antioxidant capacity, body composition, adherence to MD and glycemic profile of postmenopausal BC survivors.

Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Behavior in Female Cancer Survivors: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007-2012

Background

The aim of this study was to compare breast and cervical cancer screening rates between female cancer survivors and a population without cancer to identify factors related to cervical and breast cancer screening in cancer survivors.

Methods

We included 17,765 adults (738 cancer survivors and 17,027 individuals without cancer) in this study, all of whom who were 30 years of age or older and participated in the Fourth and Fifth Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys from 2007–2012. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors related to cervical and breast cancer screening uptake in female cancer survivors.

Results

The screening rate for breast cancer was 56.6%, which was higher than that in the non-cancer control group (P=0.001). The screening rate for cervical cancer was 51.4%, which was not different from that of the non-cancer control group. In terms of breast cancer screening, cancer survivors showed no significant difference in the rate of screening 5 years after their cancer diagnosis. However, cervical cancer survivors were less likely to have cervical cancer screening 10 years after their cancer diagnosis. There was no significant association between cancer screening and sociodemographic factors.

Conclusion

Breast and cervical cancer screening rates in Korean female cancer survivors are low. Secondary primary cancer screening of female cancer survivors needs to be planned in a comprehensive manner, with the consideration of influences beyond sociodemographic factors.

Cause of Death in Korean Men with Prostate Cancer: an Analysis of Time Trends in a Nationwide Cohort

Despite rapid increase in incidence of prostate cancer (PC) and PC survivors, there are few studies regarding competing causes of death and time trends in Asian population. We conducted a cohort study of 2% nationwide random sample of Korean National Health Insurance employees. A total of 873 patients who had received active treatments, including surgery, radiation therapy (RT) and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), for newly diagnosed PC between 2003 and 2010 were included. The cause of death was categorized as PC, other cancers, cardiovascular disease, and other causes. During a median follow-up of 4.75 years, 29.4% (257/873) of the study population died. PC, other cancers, cardiovascular disease, and other causes were responsible for 46.3%, 35.4%, 6.6%, and 11.7%, respectively, of the decedents. Significant differences existed in the cause of death among treatment groups (P < 0.001). Only 20% and 9.5% of surgery and RT group died of PC, whereas 63.9% of ADT group died of PC. Other cancers were responsible for 56%, 74.6% and 17.8% of death in the surgery, RT and ADT group, respectively, while cardiovascular disease accounted for 4%, 6.3%, and 7.1% of death in the treatment groups. Analysis of time trends showed that PC-specific death tended to decrease (from 42.9% in 2003 to 23.1% in 2010), whereas non-PC causes tended to increase over the 8 years. Our results are valuable in overviewing causes of death and time trends in Korean PC patients, and planning future health policy for PC.

Is there a role for IGF-1 in the development of second primary cancers?

Cancer survival rates are increasing, and as a result, more cancer survivors are exposed to the risk of developing a second primary cancer (SPC). It has been hypothesized that one of the underlying mechanisms for this risk could be mediated by variations in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). This review summarizes the current epidemiological evidence to identify whether IGF-1 plays a role in the development of SPCs. IGF-1 is known to promote cancer development by inhibiting apoptosis and stimulating cell proliferation. Epidemiological studies have reported a positive association between circulating IGF-1 levels and various primary cancers, such as breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer. The role of IGF-1 in increasing SPC risk has been explored less. Nonetheless, several experimental studies have observed a deregulation of the IGF-1 pathway, which may explain the association between IGF-1 and SPCs. Thus, measuring serum IGF-1 may serve as a useful marker in assessing the risk of SPCs, and therefore, more translational experimental and epidemiological studies are needed to further disentangle the role of IGF-1 in the development of specific SPCs.

Characteristics and Survival of Breast Cancer Patients with Multiple Synchronous or Metachronous Primary Cancers

PURPOSE

Newly developed extra-mammary multiple primary cancers (MPCs) are an issue of concern when considering the management of breast cancer survivors. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of MPCs and to evaluate the implications of MPCs on the survival of breast cancer patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 8204 patients who underwent surgery at Severance Hospital between 1990 and 2012 were retrospectively selected. Clinicopathologic features and survival over follow-up periods of ≤5 and >5 years were investigated using univariate and multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

During a mean follow-up of 67.3 months, 962 MPCs in 858 patients (10.5%) were detected. Synchronous and metachronous MPCs were identified in 23.8% and 79.0% of patients, respectively. Thyroid cancer was the most prevalent, and the second most common was gynecologic cancer. At ≤5 years, patients with MPCs were older and demonstrated significantly worse survival despite a higher proportion of patients with lower-stage MPCs. Nevertheless, an increased risk of death in patients with MPCs did not reach statistical significance at >5 years. The causes of death in many of the patients with MPCs were not related to breast cancer. Stage-matched analysis revealed that the implications of MPCs on survival were more evident in the early stages of breast disease.

CONCLUSION

Breast cancer patients with MPCs showed worse survival, especially when early-stage disease was identified. Therefore, it is necessary to follow screening programs in breast cancer survivors and to establish guidelines for improving prognosis and quality of life.

Clinical features of second primary cancers arising in early gastric cancer patients after endoscopic resection

AIM: To investigate the incidence and distribution of second primary cancers (SPCs) in early gastric cancer (EGC) patients who underwent endoscopic resection (ER), compared to advanced gastric cancer (AGC) patients who underwent surgery.

METHODS: The medical records of 1021 gastric cancer (GC) patients were retrospectively reviewed from January 2006 to December 2010. The characteristics and incidence of SPCs were investigated in those with EGC that underwent curative ER (the EGC group) and those with AGC who underwent curative surgical resection (the AGC group).

RESULTS: We ultimately enrolled 184 patients in the EGC group and 229 patients in the AGC group. A total of 38 of the 413 (9.2%) GC patients had SPCs; the rate was identical in both groups. Of these 38 patients, 18 had synchronous and 20 had metachronous cancers. The most common SPC was lung cancer (18.4%), followed by colorectal cancer (13.2%) and esophageal cancer (13.2%). No significant risk factors were identified for the development of SPCs.

CONCLUSION: Endoscopists should provide close surveillance and establish follow-up programs to ensure SPC detection in GC patients undergoing curative resection regardless of their clinical characteristics.

Second primary malignancies after radiotherapy including HDR (252)Cf brachytherapy for cervical cancer

PURPOSE

Second primary malignancies (SPMs) are among the most serious late adverse effects after radiotherapy experienced over time by the increasing population of cancer survivors worldwide. The study aim was to determine the rate and distribution of SPMs for neutron- and photon-emitting brachytherapy (BT) sources for patients treated for cervical cancer.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

The cohort comprised 662 patients with invasive cervical cancer (Stages IIB and IIIB) and contributed 5,224 patient-years (PY) of observation. These patients were treated by radiotherapy during the 1989-1999 year period with cobalt-60 source ((60)Co) teletherapy. The first group of patients (N = 375; 3,154 PY) received high-dose-rate (HDR) californium-252 source ((252)Cf) BT, whereas the second group (N = 287; 2,070 PY) received HDR (60)Co BT.

RESULTS

Over a 25-year period, 35 SPMs were observed, amounting to 5.3% of all observed patients: in 16 (2.4%) heavily, 2 (0.3%) moderately, 14 (2.1%) lightly irradiated body sites, and 3 (0.5%) other sites. Of these, 21 cases (5.6%) were observed in the HDR (252)Cf BT group, whereas 14 cases (4.9%) were observed in the HDR (60)Co BT group. Exposures received during (60)Co teletherapy and HDR BT with either (252)Cf or (60)Co had statistically equivalent (p = 0.68) effects on SPM development.

CONCLUSIONS

Cure rates are improving, and therefore, there are more long-term survivors from cervical cancer. This study shows no significant difference in rates or distribution of SPMs in women treated with neutron BT compared with photon BT (p = 0.68). After reviewing related literature and our research results, it is evident that a detailed investigation of SPM frequency, localization, and dose to adjacent organs is a suitable topic for further research.

Factors That Predict Persistent Smoking of Cancer Survivors

We conducted this cross-sectional study to elucidate factors that predict persistent smoking of the Korean cancer survivors. The subjects were 130 adult (≥19 yr old) cancer survivors who were smokers at the diagnosis of cancer and have participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys conducted from 2007 to 2011. We categorized them into the persistent smokers and the quitters, according to change in smoking status between the time of cancer diagnosis and the time of the survey. Factors associated with persistent smoking were evaluated using the multiple logistic regression analysis. During 7.52 yr (standard deviation = 0.34) after the cancer diagnosis, 59.6% of the 130 cancer survivors have continued to smoke. After adjusting for covariates, following factors were independently associated with the risk of persistent smoking: female, low income, high-risk alcohol use, high body mass index (≥ 25 kg/m(2)), presence of household members who smoke, and longer duration of smoking. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test showed a positive association with the risk of persistent smoking (P for trend = 0.012). In conclusion, more efforts for smoking cessation should be in place for the cancer survivors with those risk factors associated with the persistent smoking.

A clinical and genetic analysis of multiple primary cancer referrals to genetics services

Multiple primary malignant tumours (MPMT) are frequently taken as an indicator of potential inherited cancer susceptibility and occur at appreciable frequency both among unselected cancer patients and, particularly, among referrals to cancer genetics services. However, there is a paucity of information on the clinical genetic evaluation of cohorts of MPMT patients representing a variety of tumour types. We ascertained a referral-based series of MPMT cases and describe the patterns of tumours observed. Service-based molecular genetic testing had demonstrated a pathogenic germline variant in an inherited cancer gene in fewer than one in four unselected referrals. To assess for evidence of thus far unidentified variants in those who tested negative, comparisons were made with those who tested positive. This revealed considerable overlap between the two groups with respect to clinical characteristics indicative of an inherited cancer syndrome. We therefore proceeded to test a subset of unexplained MPMT cases (n=62) for pathogenic germline variants in TP53 and PTEN but none were detected. Individuals with MPMT may receive negative genetic test results for a number of reasons, which are discussed. Many of these may be addressed by the increasing application of next generation sequencing techniques such as inherited cancer gene panels.

Oncologists' Experience with Patients with Second Primary Cancer and the Attitudes toward Second Primary Cancer Screening: A Nationwide Survey

Purpose

Screening for second primary cancer (SPC) is one of the key components to survivorship care. We aim to evaluate the oncologists’ experience with SPCs and assess the current practice, perceived barriers, and recommendations related to SPC screening.

Materials and Methods

A nationwide survey was conducted with a representative sample of 496 Korean oncologists. A questionnaire based on the findings from our previous qualitative study was administered.

Results

More than three-fourths of oncologists (76.3%), who participated in the study, had experience with SPC patients. Over half of them (51.9%) stated that it was an embarrassing experience. While the current management practice for SPC varies, most oncologists (80.2%) agreed on the necessity in proactively providing information on SPC screening. A short consultation time (52.3%), lack of guidelines and evidence on SPC screening (47.7%), and patients’ lack of knowledge about SPCs (45.1%) or SPC screening (41.4%) were most frequently reported as barriers to providing appropriate care for managing SPC. Oncologists recommended the development of specific screening programs or guidelines in accordance to the type of primary cancer (65.9%), the development of an internal system for SPC screening within the hospital (59.7%) or systematic connection with the national cancer screening program (44.3%), and education of oncologists (41.4%) as well as patients (48.9%) regarding SPC screening.

Conclusion

Many oncologists reported the occurrence of SPC as an embarrassing experience. Given the variations in current practice and the lack of consensus, further studies are warranted to develop the optimal clinical strategy to provide SPC screening for cancer survivors.

Survivorship

Significant therapeutic advances for soft tissue sarcomas allow increasing numbers of patients--adult and pediatric--to achieve long term survival. However, the harsh cytotoxic therapies are responsible for adverse physical and psychosocial effects that require long-term follow-up care, specific to survivorship issues. In the adult and pediatric patient population, guidelines for care developed by experts in comprehensive survivorship clinics are evolving to assist the practitioner while on-line supports bring information directly to the survivors.

Three synchronous, sporadic and separate periampullary and pancreatic tumors: more than a coincidence?

Three sporadic, synchronous, and separate lesions in the ampulla of Vater and the head of the pancreas presented in an 81-year-old male. One was symptomatic and two were incidental. One was detected preoperatively (the ampullary lesion) and two by examination of the resected specimen (the neuroendocrine and pancreatic carcinomas). The case is summarized and the literature and the issue of commonality are reviewed.

Risk of second cancers cancer after a first primary breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To examine the scientific evidence and the risk of second primary cancers in women diagnosed with a first primary breast cancer.

METHODS

The literature was searched in Pubmed and Embase and included studies published up to June 2013, using population-based data and IARC/AICR codification rules for multiple primary cancers. A qualitative synthesis was carried out and the methodological quality of the studies evaluated. Standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) on second cancer risk, weighted by the standard error of each study, were pooled using fixed and random effects models. SIRs were also pooled by age at diagnosis (<50 and ≥ 50 years), and time since diagnosis of the first breast cancer (<10 and ≥ 10 years).

RESULTS

15 out of 710 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. All of them were retrospective cohort studies either population-based (13 studies) or hospital-based studies (2 studies). The studies varied with respect to number of cases, selection criteria, definition of multiple primary cancers, and the second cancer sites included. SIRs reported in these studies for all cancers combined varied from 1.0 to 1.4. The pooled SIR estimate for second cancer risk was 1.17 (95% CI: 1.10-1.25). By age groups, SIR estimates were 1.51 (95% CI: 1.35-1.70) for women younger than 50 years and 1.11 (95% CI: 1.02-1.21) for those who were older. Women with breast cancer are at risk of second cancers within the first 10 years after the first breast cancer diagnosis (SIR: 1.19; 95% CI: 1.06-1.33), and thereafter (SIR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.05-1.52).

CONCLUSION

This higher risk of second cancers in women diagnosed with a first primary breast cancer with respect to the general population emphasises the importance of prevention and control policies aimed at reducing incidence of second cancers.

Unexpected Second Primary Malignancies Detected by F-18 FDG PET/CT During Follow-up for Primary Malignancy: Two Case Reports

As the survival rate of cancer patients has increased over the last few decades, the risk of cancer survivors developing second primary malignancies has gained attention. We report two rare cases of second primary hematologic malignancy detected by (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18 FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) during follow-up for primary solid malignancies. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia developed in a breast cancer patient and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in an anal cancer patient. F-18 FDG PET/CT findings led to the diagnosis of unexpected second primary hematologic malignancy in cancer survivors in these two cases.

A Rb1 promoter variant with reduced activity contributes to osteosarcoma susceptibility in irradiated mice

BACKGROUND

Syndromic forms of osteosarcoma (OS) account for less than 10% of all recorded cases of this malignancy. An individual OS predisposition is also possible by the inheritance of low penetrance alleles of tumor susceptibility genes, usually without evidence of a syndromic condition. Genetic variants involved in such a non-syndromic form of tumor predisposition are difficult to identify, given the low incidence of osteosarcoma cases and the genetic heterogeneity of patients. We recently mapped a major OS susceptibility QTL to mouse chromosome 14 by comparing alpha-radiation induced osteosarcoma in mouse strains which differ in their tumor susceptibility.

METHODS

Tumor-specific allelic losses in murine osteosacoma were mapped along chromosome 14 using microsatellite markers and SNP allelotyping. Candidate gene search in the mapped interval was refined using PosMed data mining and mRNA expression analysis in normal osteoblasts. A strain-specific promoter variant in Rb1 was tested for its influence on mRNA expression using reporter assay.

RESULTS

A common Rb1 allele derived from the BALB/cHeNhg strain was identified as the major determinant of radiation-induced OS risk at this locus. Increased OS-risk is linked with a hexanucleotide deletion in the promoter region which is predicted to change WT1 and SP1 transcription factor-binding sites. Both in-vitro reporter and in-vivo expression assays confirmed an approx. 1.5 fold reduced gene expression by this promoter variant. Concordantly, the 50% reduction in Rb1 expression in mice bearing a conditional hemizygous Rb1 deletion causes a significant rise of OS incidence following alpha-irradiation.

CONCLUSION

This is the first experimental demonstration of a functional and genetic link between reduced Rb1 expression from a common promoter variant and increased tumor risk after radiation exposure. We propose that a reduced Rb1 expression by common variants in regulatory regions can modify the risk for a malignant transformation of bone cells after radiation exposure.

Clinical significance of incidental findings on staging positron emission tomography for oesophagogastric malignancies

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the clinical significance of incidental findings detected on positron emission tomography (PET) in patients undergoing staging of oesophagogastric malignancies.

METHODS

Patients with oesophagogastric malignancies who underwent PET between June 2007 and May 2012 were included in the study. PET was performed according to hospital protocol. All imaging was interpreted by two consultant radiologists in nuclear medicine. Incidental findings that were unrelated to the primary malignancy were recorded and patients were recommended to have further investigations (imaging, endoscopy and biopsy).

RESULTS

Overall, 333 patients (240 male, 93 female; mean age: 67 years) with upper gastrointestinal malignancies were eligible for inclusion in the study. Eighty-nine of these patients had PET demonstrating one or more incidental findings. Two patients were found to have a second primary malignancy. One patient had a distant metastasis of his primary cancer and six patients had a premalignant lesion.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, incidental findings were discovered in 26.7% of patients with known oesophagogastric cancer. A second primary cancer or premalignant lesion was found in 8.4% of patients with incidental findings. Patients with these findings should be investigated to rule out further malignancy. There were a high proportion of false positive results in our study. It is recommended that each patient is considered on an individual basis and assessed with simultaneous PET and computed tomography.

Second primary cancer risk - the impact of applying different definitions of multiple primaries: results from a retrospective population-based cancer registry study

Background

There is evidence that cancer survivors are at increased risk of second primary cancers. Changes in the prevalence of risk factors and diagnostic techniques may have affected more recent risks.

Methods

We examined the incidence of second primary cancer among adults in the West of Scotland, UK, diagnosed with cancer between 2000 and 2004 (n = 57,393). We used National Cancer Institute Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results and International Agency for Research on Cancer definitions of multiple primary cancers and estimated indirectly standardised incidence ratios (SIR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results

There was a high incidence of cancer during the first 60 days following diagnosis (SIR = 2.36, 95% CI = 2.12 to 2.63). When this period was excluded the risk was not raised, but it was high for some patient groups; in particular women aged <50 years with breast cancer (SIR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.58 to 2.78), patients with bladder (SIR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.19 to 1.67) and head & neck (SIR = 1.93, 95% CI = 1.67 to 2.21) cancer. Head & neck cancer patients had increased risks of lung cancer (SIR = 3.75, 95% CI = 3.01 to 4.62), oesophageal (SIR = 4.62, 95% CI = 2.73 to 7.29) and other head & neck tumours (SIR = 6.10, 95% CI = 4.17 to 8.61). Patients with bladder cancer had raised risks of lung (SIR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.62 to 2.88) and prostate (SIR = 2.41, 95% CI = 1.72 to 3.30) cancer.

Conclusions

Relative risks of second primary cancers may be smaller than previously reported. Premenopausal women with breast cancer and patients with malignant melanomas, bladder and head & neck cancers may benefit from increased surveillance and advice to avoid known risk factors.

The risk of developing a second primary cancer in melanoma patients: a comprehensive review of the literature and meta-analysis

The number of cutaneous melanoma survivors has been increasing for years due to improvements in early diagnosis and subsequent prolonged survival. These patients are at increased risk of developing a second melanoma and a second primary malignancy (SPM) at other sites as well. We performed a review of scientific literature and meta-analysis to evaluate the risk of developing a SPM (other than melanoma) among melanoma patients. Twenty-three independent papers and over 350,000 melanoma patients were included. Risk of cancer among melanoma survivors was increased overall (1.57, 95% CI 1.29-1.90) and at several sites: bone (2.09, 95% CI 1.08-4.05), non-melanoma skin cancer (4.01, 95% CI 1.81-8.87), soft tissue (6.80, 95% CI 1.29-35.98), colon-rectum (1.12, 95% CI 1.00-1.25), female breast (1.14, 95% CI 1.07-1.22), kidney (1.34, 95% CI 1.23-1.45), prostate (1.25, 95% CI 1.13-1.37) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (1.37, 95% CI 1.22-1.54). The overall risk of SPM showed a tendency to decrease as the time from melanoma diagnosis lengthened. Most of our findings may be explained by the tendency of some exposures, which are risk factors for different tumors, to occur simultaneously in the same individuals. These results suggest primary and secondary cancer prevention counselling for melanoma survivors.

The effect of patient characteristics on second primary cancer risk in France

Background

Although cancer survivors are known to be at greater risk of developing second primary cancer (SPC), SPC incidence estimates in France are thus far lacking. We used a multivariate approach to compute these estimates and analyzed the effect of patient characteristics (gender, age at diagnosis, first cancer site, year of diagnosis and follow-up) on SPC risk.

Methods

Data from ten French population-based cancer registries were used to establish a cohort of all patients diagnosed with a first cancer between 1989 and 2004 and followed up until December 31, 2007. The person-year approach was used to estimate standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and excess absolute risks (EARs) of metachronous SPC. Multivariate Poisson regression models were then used to model SIRs and EARs separately by gender, adjusting for age, year of diagnosis, follow-up and first cancer site.

Results

Among the 289,967 followed-up patients with a first primary cancer, 21,226 developed a SPC. The SIR was of 1.36 (95% CI, 1.35-1.38) and the EAR was of 39.4 excess cancers per 10,000 person-years (95% CI, 37.4-41.3). Among male and female patients, multivariate analyses showed that age, year of diagnosis, follow-up and first cancer site were often independently associated with SIRs and EARs. Moreover, the EAR of SPC remained elevated during patient follow-up.

Conclusions

French cancer survivors face a dramatically increased risk of SPC which is probably related to the high rate of tobacco and alcohol consumption in France. Multivariate modeling of SPC risk will facilitate the construction of a tailored prediction tool to optimize SPC prevention and early detection strategies.

Frequency and clinical implications of incidental new primary cancers detected on true whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT studies

OBJECTIVE

To determine the frequency of additional primary malignancies in patients undergoing staging/restaging with PET/computed tomography (CT) and to determine the frequency with which these unsuspected findings change clinical management.

METHODS

This is a retrospective review of 556 patients who had undergone a total of 804 PET/CTs for staging/restaging. Lesions that were at an atypical location for a metastasis from the primary malignancy (indication for the study) and had a maximum standardized uptake value greater than 2.5 were considered suspicious. Suspicious lesions were followed up by a combination of clinical examination, biopsy, and additional and/or follow-up imaging.

RESULTS

Forty-three (7.7%) patients had lesions that were suspicious for a newly discovered primary malignancy that was different from the known/suspected malignancy (indication for study). Eight (1.4% of 556) of these patients had biopsy confirmation of an additional synchronous or metachronous primary malignancy. However, these suspicious lesions changed the clinical management for 18 (3.2% of 556) patients. Patients with early-stage disease (stages 1 and 2) based on the malignancy for which the study was conducted were three times more likely to have these suspicious lesions biopsied, evaluated by clinical examination or by additional immediate imaging than were patients with advanced-stage disease (stages 3 and 4); however, this difference was not statistically significant (P=0.08).

CONCLUSION

Unsuspected additional primary malignancies are rarely identified in patients undergoing staging/restaging with PET/CT but have the potential to significantly impact clinical management.

A population-based comparison of second primary cancers in Germany and Sweden between 1997 and 2006: clinical implications and etiologic aspects

Second primary cancer (SPC) has become an increasing concern in cancer survivorship. Patterns of SPCs in different populations may offer clinical implications and research priorities into SPCs. This study is devoted to compare the occurrences and rank correlations of SPCs between Germany and Sweden. Patients diagnosed with 10 common first primaries between 1997 and 2006 from the Swedish Family-Cancer Database and 10 German cancer registries were included in this population-based study. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the strength of the relationship of SPCs between the German and Swedish datasets. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients suggested a strong positive correlation between the German and Swedish datasets based on the ranks of thirty possible SPCs after all selected first cancers. This was also true when we compared the rankings and proportions of the five most common SPCs after site-specific first primaries between the two populations. For kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and leukemia the components of the five most common SPCs was exactly the same. Also, the ranking and the proportions for the three most common SPCs (i.e., colorectal, bladder, and lung cancers) after prostate cancer were identical in the two populations, as were those after most other primary cancers. The strikingly consistent patterns of SPCs in the two populations provide excellent opportunities for joint studies and they also suggest that many underlying reasons for SPC may have universal and tangible causes that await mechanistic dissection.